The anti-vaccine activist François Amalega Bitondo, a well-known figure in the opposition to health measures, was arrested again on Friday at noon, while he was trying to disrupt an event by Prime Minister François Legault, in Shawinigan.
The Sûreté du Québec confirmed having arrested the 43-year-old man at the Center d’Entrepreneuriat Alphonse-Desjardins, where the Prime Minister was giving a presentation on economic recovery.
Images circulated on Facebook show him as he was stopped by a police officer from the Sûreté du Québec who asked him to move away from a corridor where the Prime Minister and ministers of his government must pass. Several government officers are located a few meters away. François Amalega then suddenly starts yelling: “Mr. Legault, are you incompetent or are you malicious?” You talk about economic recovery when 10% of the population is ostracized because they do not have a health passport. ”
Mr. Amalega Bitondo, who has already accumulated more than $ 40,000 in tickets for non-compliance with sanitary measures, said he was the victim of one of the “worst dictatorial states” after being handcuffed. He was regained his freedom a few hours later, however, in exchange for a promise to appear at a later date on charges of obstructing police work and disturbing the peace.
This new arrest will also earn Mr. Amalega charges of breach of conditions. In early October, he was found guilty of obstructing the work of the police, after a trial in which he was imprisoned for 7 days because he refused to appear at his trial wearing a mask. Sentencing was then suspended by Judge Randall Richmond, in return for an obligation to keep the peace for one year.